Saturday, October 29, 2011

ALMA - The Calvin men’s cross country team continued its MIAA title run on Saturday while the Calvin women’s team had its title streak snapped. At the MIAA Championships on Saturday at Alma College, the Calvin men took first place with 18 points to capture their 25th consecutive MIAA title. On the women’s side, Calvin was edged for the league title by rival Hope as the Flying Dutch finished in first place with 43 points, three points ahead of Calvin. The Hope win snaps Calvin’s MIAA Championship streak of six years. On the men’s side, Calvin senior Dan Kerr took first place and was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Runner. On the women’s side, senior Jodi Hoekstra took first place and was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Runner.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Calvin menís and womenís cross country teams continue to hold top-10 national rankings but have dipped a few spots in the rankings conducted by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. On the menís side, Calvin is ranked sixth in this weekís poll, down three spots from a week ago when the Knights were ranked sixth. On the womenís side, Calvin is ranked eighth, down a spot from last week. In addition, both Calvin teams continue to hold the top spot in Division III Great Lakes Regional rankings. Both Calvin teams return to action on October 29 when they compete at the MIAA Championships at Alma College.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

OSHKOSH, WI - Competing in a power-packed invitational, the Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams posted a pair of top-four finishes at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational Saturday morning. Wisconsin-Oshkosh will also serve as the host of the NCAA III Cross Country Championships on November 19. On the men’s side, top-ranked North Central (IL) took first place with 49 points while fifth-ranked Washington University took second (137 points), 29th-ranked Wheaton took third (154 points) and third-ranked Calvin took fourth (156 points). Host Wisconsin-Oshkosh, ranked fifth, took fifth with 158 points. On the women’s side, seventh-ranked Calvin took third with 188 points while third-ranked Washington University (Mo.) took first (61 points) and fifth-ranked MIT second (123 points). St. Olaf, ranked 13th, took fourth with 190 points while Ohio Northern was fifth (222 points).

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams continue to hold their spots in the latest set of national rankings released by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. The Calvin men are again ranked third while the Calvin women are again ranked seventh. North Central (IL) continues to be the top-ranked team on the men’s side while Williams (MA) has taken over the top spot in the women’s poll. Both Calvin teams are preparing to compete at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational this Saturday.

Monday, October 10, 2011

ROYAL OAK, Mich. Ė The Michigan Intecollegiate Athletic Association has named Calvinís Alyssa Penning its MIAA Runner of the Week in women’s cross country for meets through October 8.Penning, a junior from Grand Rapids (GR Christian HS), finished third in the small college (Division II/III) division at the Michigan Intercollegiates meet at Hillsdale with a time of 18:28 over the 6-kliometer course. Her performance led Calvin to a second-place showing among the 17 teams in the small college division, behind only Division II Saginaw Valley State, with a team score of 79 points. Calvin will now prepare to compete at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh pre-national invitational on Saturday.

Friday, October 07, 2011

HILLSDALE - The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Michigan Intercollegiates on Friday at the Hayden Park cross country course on the campus of Hillsdale College. The competition included teams from around the state of Michigan from the NCAA Division I, II and III ranks as well as the NAIA level. On the men’s side, Calvin chose not to run its top group in order to prepare for the Wisconsin-Oshkosh pre-national meet next Saturday. Neverthless, the Knights still managed to finish fourth in the small college division behind Wayne State, Grand Valley State and host Hillsdale with a total of 148 points. Calvin’s top runner was junior Kevin Peterson with a time of 26:53 on the 8K course. In the women’s 5K race, Calvin took second in the small college division with 79 points with Saginaw Valley State winning with 62 points. Calvin also chose not to run all of its top seven on Friday with the Wisconsin-Oshkoh pre-national race looming next week. Calvin did run its top two runners in senior Jodi Hoekstra and junior Alyssa Penning and both individuals flashed fine form with Hoekstra taking second (18:22) and Penning third (18:28).

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams have each moved up one spot in the latest set of Division III Cross Country rankings compiled by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. On the men’s side, Calvin is ranked third behind second-ranked Haverford and top-ranked North Central. The Knights were ranked fourth last week. On the women’s side, Calvin is ranked seventh. The Knights were ranked eighth a week ago. Middlebury (Vt.) remains the top-ranked team while Washington (Mo.) is ranked second. Both Calvin teams will compete at the Michigan Intercollegiates on Friday in Hillsdale, Michigan. The competition will include teams from around the state of Michigan at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

CHICAGO, IL - A group of runners from the Calvin men’s and women’s cross contry teams competed at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Saturday. In the men’s race, Calvin placed 16th with 465 points. In the women’s race, Calvin placed 14th with 469 points. The University of Toledo won the men’s race with 55 points while the University of Iowa won the women’s race with 27 points. Calvin’s top finisher in the men’s race was junior Kevin Peterson (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in 62nd place (26:17). On the women’s side, senior Samantha Westveer (Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) led Calvin by placing 88th (19:08). Calvin returns to action next Friday, competing at the Michigan Intercollegiates at Hillsdale College.

Friday, September 30, 2011

NOTRE DAME, IN - The nationally-ranked Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Notre Dame Invitational Friday afternoon with both teams competing in the Gold Division. On the men’s side, third-ranked Calvin took fourth with 133 points, trailing top-ranked (Division III) North Central (IL) which took third with 67 points, the University of Windsor which placed second with 50 points and Grand Valley State which won with a team score of 45 points. In the women’s gold division race, Calvin placed seventh with 229 points with Grand Valley State winning with a team score of 40 points.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Calvin menís and womenís cross country teams continue to move up in the national polls. In the latest set of national rankings released by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association, the Calvin men are ranked third and the Calvin women are ranked eighth. Both teams have moved up one spot from a week ago when the Calvin men were ranked fourth and the Calvin women ranked ninth. North Central is the top-ranked team in the menís poll. Calvin will get a chance to run against the Cardinals this Friday at the Notre Dame Invitational. On the womenís side, Middlebury (Vt.) is again ranked number-one. Both Calvin teams will run at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday. A group of runners representing both teams will also compete at the Loyola Invitational on Saturday.